To ask you to post the most intellectual thing you have learned recently?

[ethelfleda]

I dont care what subject it is about or how specific or random it may seem. I'm just in the mood to soak up some knowledge! I've been doing a lot of free course on the openlearn website and some of them are fascinating and I feel my self esteem is increasing just through learning. I didn't get the chance to study past GCSE level when I was younger and I have always regretted it.

I will start:

That I think in art history, it can almost be considered a hindrance to try and relate the artist's work with details of their life. This can discount many other factors influencing their work such as patronage or available materials and can cause you to read a painting 'incorrectly' - that is not in the manner in which it was intended'

[drspouse]

I was fascinated by the piece on the Today Programme this morning about the farmland in the WWI Red Zone that can't really be reclaimed because of the bodies and ammunition. Humans can really mess things up when they have a bee in their collective bonnet.
I was a bit worried about the farmer who keeps digging up grenades with his potatoes!

[drspouse]

nota unlikely as it's tig, It or just catch in a lot of places.

[Booboostwo]

When it comes to moral role models:

• negative role models may be as motivating as positive role models. People who are focused on success are motivated by positive role models, people who are focused on prevention are motivated by negative role models.
  

• positive role models who are relevant and attainable are likely to motivate.
  

• positive role models who are relevant but unattainable are likely to threaten the self and are then trivialized and dismissed.

[thegreylady]

At the age of 74, with an Eng Lit degree and a long teaching career I discovered that there were two interpretations of Romeo’s speech:
Parting is such sweet sorrow
So I will say Goodnight till it be morrow.
I took it to mean that he was saying goodnight now but would see her in the morning. Another reading could be that, rather than leave (part) he would stay there till morning saying ‘Goodnight’.

[thegreylady]

Oops it is JULIET not Romeo who says it and it is that not so in line 2.
Senility creeps in after all and I should leave literary debate to the young!

[MemoriesOfAnotherFuture]

Although the ostrich lays the biggest egg by size, it is actually the smallest in relation to size of the mother’s body, at only 2% of the mother’s body. A kiwi’s egg is 20% of the mother’s body. A human baby is 5% of the morther’s body (approx).

[purpleorchidwhite]

The term 'Straight laced', comes from corset laces being laced straight and requiring a maid to dress and undress you. So no illicit liaisons could take place, not during daylight hours anyway.

Loose laced (loose women) meant the corset laces were crossed and could be loosened or tightened by the wearer.

A straight laced or a loose woman!

[TheLittleFoxes]

@ErrolTheDragon

What are the Great Courses course guides like? My preferred method of learning is reading over audio/visual.

[ErrolTheDragon]

I've not actually read them littlefoxes, except we took the book of this one https://www.thegreatcourses.co.uk/courses/the-smithsonian-guide-to-essential-italy.html with us when we went to Florence last year - quite good as reference in that context having watched the relevant lectures beforehand (that one wasn't on special offer but added so much to the trip it was definitely worth the money and time.)

I'm not on commission, honestly!

[heronsinflight]

When the British invaded Afghanistan in 1839 their army's baggage train included 10,000 camels. Two of these carried nothing but cigars for the officers.

[eniledam]

0.03% of ocean plastic comes from straws. 46% comes from fishing nets.

[CarpeVitam]

Fascinating thread!

[TimeIhadaNameChange]

There was a linguist who raised their daughter for quite some years with her never hearing a colour for the sky. When she was eventually asked what colour it was she answered 'white' as that was how it seemed to her.

In Scottish Gaelic grass and the sea are the same colour.

[Standandwait]

That's STRAIT-laced, purple, so your next new piece of info was that stand is an ill-mannered pedant.

In Chinese (and therefore Japanese) until very recently the language made no distinction between blue, green, and black.

[Standandwait]

And in Japan what we call the green traffic light is the blue traffic light. I can never decide if theirs really is more blue or if it just looks more blue-ish to me because they call it that.

And then there are shades of turquoise that apparently men are more likely to call blue and women to call green. (I forget where I learned that.)

[ALongHardWinter]

This week,I've finally learnt,and understood,about music timing and what it actually means,e.g. when you say that something is played in 4/4 or 8/13 timing. No real reason that I learnt it,it's just something that's puzzled me for years.

[ALongHardWinter]

speakout How can mud have been 'invented'? Surely it's a naturally occurring thing?

[Theknacktoflying]

It was only really after the French Revolution that people became citizens and were no longer forced to fight battles instigated by leaders ... (I think)

[ErrolTheDragon]

And then there are shades of turquoise that apparently men are more likely to call blue and women to call green.

My DD is fond of colours in that range, we quite often disagree whether a particular hue is more green than blue.

[student26]

Watching a documentary on crime. I now know the difference between guilty and no contest as I didn’t know before!

[ToothTrauma]

A strawberry is not a berry. It is an accessory fruit. The plant developed it so animals (and us!) would eat the fruit and then poo the seeds out further away than the plant could ever hope to reach itself.

[dietofstrangeplaces]

Scientists have only discovered three types of cancer that are transmissible. Two of them only affect Tasmanian Devils.

[Bumbledop]

Engines turn energy into force where as generators create energy. Was obvious once I was told, but I didn’t know! 😂

[ErrolTheDragon]

where as generators create energy
Convert a different form of energy into electrical energy rather than 'create', to be pedantic. Ye canna break the laws of physics!

[ParryHotterx]

Always blows my mind that the pyramids were built around 3000BC and Cleopatra was around 30BC. So she was as far removed from the building of the pyramids as we are from bronze age hill forts. Nuts.